Glice is on a mission to make ice sports sustainable and available anywhere in the world! Thanks to a complex molecular technology, Glice waterless zero-energy Eco-Ice allows for ice skating without the negative environmental impact related to conventional ice. Compared to a refrigerated ice rink, a 200 m2 Glice Eco-Rink saves 10,000 liters of water and the average monthly energy consumption of 200 households. Glice Rinks allow for eco-friendly and cost-efficient installations worldwide and regardless of seasons and climate – ice skating anywhere, any time!
Just as fascinating as the product itself – ice that isn’t ice – is the company history and organizational culture behind it. Bored with his 9 to 5 job, Glice Co-Founder and CEO Viktor Meier first saw his partner, engineer and former hockey player Toni Vera, in a BBC documentary and reached out to him immediately. Within only 5 years the startup had exported the revolutionary Eco-Ice into 80 countries on 5 continents thanks to an innovative organizational structure with home offices and cloud-based real time exchange at its heart. Viktor Meier is available for interviews to elaborate on the technological quantum leap and the unconventional organizational culture that power the success of Glice.
By now, Glice has completed more than 1000 installations from classic winter sport nations to the tropics. Glice was present at the Olympic Games in Rio and PyeongChang and is replacing the world’s largest refrigerated ice rink in 2019. Co-Founder and CEO Viktor Meier sums up the Swiss technology like this: “Glice looks like ice, glides like ice, but isn’t ice.”
Prominent clients include brands like Coca Cola, Red Bull, Four Seasons, Jumeirah and CCM. The array of installations ranges from small home rinks to the world’s biggest ecological ice rink. Achievements include:
- Replacement of the world’s largest refrigerated outdoor rink (4000 m2) in Mexico City in 2019
- Record for the previously largest Eco-Rink in the world (2200 m2) in Baku, Azerbaijan
- Olympic Games 2016 (Brazil) and PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games as part of the House of Switzerland
- Glice Hockey Elite Center at HC Davos in Switzerland
- Largest Eco Rink in the US
- Supplier of CCM, the world’s largest hockey equipment manufacturer
- Supplier of Pure Hockey, the largest hockey retailer in the US
- Prestigious Hotels: Four Seasons, Kempinski, Jumeirah Vittaveli, Grand Hotel Heiligendamm (G-8 Summit host)
Glice in the Media
CNN
Lonely Planet
Khaleej Times
Photos by Categories
Events, Entertainment and Special Installations | Leisure | Hockey | Christmas | Home Pads | Glice Founders
Press Tool Box
A resource for any group wanting more information on Glice and the function we perform in the world of Eco-Ice.
What is Glice:
Glice is an industry leader in the rapidly growing world of synthetic ice. Founded in 2012, Glice is the premier provider of high quality polymer panels used as a substitute for ice. At the core of any high performance product is the inventors. Glice was made by athletes for athletes with high performance skating in mind. Glice provides a cost effective and eco- friendly skating experience that distinguishes itself from conventional rinks. Glice is often used in places where real ice is impractical or impossible, and an ideal solution in a warming world.
Who is Glice:
Here at Glice, our vision is to democratize ice sports while caring for the planet. Only by providing the highest quality solution with the best localized service can we bring a great skating experience to a warming world. We aim to achieve our goals through our core values of hard work, innovation, and a strong team spirit. Founded by a group of passionate athletes who have a deep commitment to environmental sustainability, Glice brings together a high performance skating experience without the environmental drawbacks of conventional rinks.
Founding Story:
The founders of Glice recognized the failures of existing synthetic ice brands in the market and wanted to bring a competitive solution to customers. Through an intensive research and development process, the founders had developed a solution that effectively mimicked the glide of real ice. In working to achieve a competitive alternative to real ice, Glice provided an economically and ecologically sound solution that successfully achieved the goal. The result was Glice, which rapidly became the world’s top selling eco ice product.
How it Works:
Glice panels use the highest quality materials sourced from a single manufacturer ensuring exceptional quality. Glice panels are produced through a sintering process where lubricant pellets are added throughout the panel to bring a smooth and consistent skating experience.
Glice utilizes a tongue and groove connection method to ensure an easy installation. The panels are connected and held together with a polimer bolt to ensure material consistency when skating panel to panel. Unlike other connection methods like dovetail or a puzzle system, Glice’s tongue and groove method ensures a stable connection that stands the test of time.
Glice provides online training through Glice Academy for rink installation and rink management. Glice offers a turnkey solution for rink providers to ensure a timely installation and overall rink success.
What problem do we solve?:
The creators of Glice recognized an issue in the world of ice sports:
- Making a synthetic ice surface perform close to regular ice
- Lower the cost of operating a skating rink
- Eliminate the water, electricity and chemicals required for traditional rinks
- Make skating available in any environment and temperature
With these problems in mind, Glice was brought to the market to provide a solution for those in the skating community. Eco ice brings financial and environmental relief to the burdened skating infrastructure. With reduced emissions and operating costs, rinks can bring prices down and more skating availability to a broader audience.
Who do we serve: :
Glice brings eco skating opportunities to several vertical markets:
- Municipalities: Glice’s eco-ice offers municipalities a safe, sustainable, and adaptable alternative to traditional ice rinks, which can be used for a variety of purposes, from community events to tourism.
- Hotels and Resorts: Glice’s eco-ice offers hotels a fun and unique activity for their guests, as well as a versatile tool for marketing and training purposes.
- Educational: Glice’s eco-ice offers educational institutions a safe and functional alternative to real ice that can be used for a variety of purposes, from educational training to recreational activities.
- Special Events: Glice is a dynamic and innovative solution that can help special event coordinators create memorable and engaging experiences for their guests.
- Off-ice Hockey and Figure Skating Training Centers: Glice offers a cost effective and convenient option for hockey and figure skating training centers. The seamless installation of a rink allows for facilities to have easy access for their customers.
- Commercial Rink Replacements: Transitioning to Glice can offer many benefits including cost savings, convenience, environmental sustainability and reduced maintenance.
- Residential Rinks: Glice offers a convenient in-home option for skating enthusiasts who want to bring the rink home with them. Variable residential rink sizes are available to fit any desired skating space.
Why select us:
- Determining the highest quality synthetic ice depends on several factors such as the materials used, the manufacturing process, and the product’s overall performance.
- Materials: Highest-quality raw materials sourced from a single producer, assuring excellent quality control and an exceptional product to skate on.
- Manufacturing: Glice panels are individually compression moulded under high pressure and heat rather than extruded through a slot, providing the skating surface with a consistent hardness index for superior durability and glide.
- Performance: Lubricants in the polymer resin that make up Glice panels are distributed evenly throughout the thickness of each sheet. This ensures a surface glide that is closer to real ice than any other synthetic ice product over the long life of a Glice rink.
Our Environmental Conservation Efforts:
- Inherit advantages: Glice requires none of the water, electricity and refrigeration chemicals that a convention ice rink does. As such, a Glice rink has a very small environmental impact compared to regular ice, and it can operate in any environment.
- Skate for the Planet: We have partnered with the Eden Reforestation Project to further advance Glice’s environmental sustainability pledge. The Glice and Eden Project is a natural partnership that furthers both organizations missions for environmental sustainability. For every Glice panel purchased, the Eden Project plants a tree. Our skate for the world project has resulted in over 100,000+ trees planted around the world.
References:
List of contact information for clients who have agreed to speak about their Glice experience (Available upon request)
Testimonials: Read More